Lando Norris has publicly apologised to Franco Colapinto after acknowledging that his earlier demand for the Argentinian driver to be banned was misguided. The British world champion had called for severe penalties following a three-car crash instigated by Colapinto during Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, an incident that forced Norris to retire from the race.
Colapinto, who accepted responsibility for the collision, received a five-place grid penalty ahead of the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix. Despite this, Norris faced a wave of online abuse, primarily from Colapinto’s supporters.
In an Instagram post, Norris explained that he sent a message directly to Colapinto apologising for his harsh comments. “Tough weekend overall in Baku and of course a disappointing and early end to the race,” Norris said. “After the race, I sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said. I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me.”
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He added that having made mistakes himself in the past, he understands racing is often about pushing limits and that incidents are part of the sport. “Me and Franco came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend,” Norris concluded.
Norris’s failure to finish in Baku leaves him 116 points behind the championship leader with eight rounds remaining. Previously, he had stated, “If you cause a crash on a restart like this, you should have at least a one-race ban. It is just careless. It costs a lot of money, all my parts are in the bin now. It is not driving that deserves to be in Formula One. You want to be against the best drivers and when stuff like this happens it is because, yeah, they shouldn’t be there.”
His latest statements show a change of heart, reflecting a more measured view on the incident and an ongoing friendly relationship with Colapinto.